Is the colour you see the same as what I see? It’s a question that has puzzled both philosophers and neuroscientists for decades, but has proved notoriously difficult to answer… Now, a study that recorded patterns of brain activity in 15 participants suggests that colours are represented and processed in the same way in the brains of different people.
The researchers found that in most cases they were able to predict which colour was being viewed by a participant in this second group, using the patterns of brain activity they had seen in the first group. They also found that different colours were processed by subtly different areas within the same region of the visual cortex, and that different brain cells responded more strongly to particular colours. These differences were consistent across participants.
The paper on Journal of Neuroscience (sadly not open access): https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2025/08/29/JNEUROSCI.2717-20.2025
My critique is… the researchers are based in Tubingen, Germany, and I assume most of their 15 participants are of European cultural heritage (cannot verify… no open access). I would love to see if they can replicate this in a more multi-cultured setting. Some Asian cultures have rather different verbiage for different colors, and I wonder whether that would bias ppl’s perception.
Two people can have a different experience of smell and taste despite the input as well as the way their brains are processing that input being the same. While not a perfect analogy, I don’t see why assuming that everyone experiences colors the same would be any different than assuming that everyone likes the same food.
I’m not saying I definitely believe that everyone does share color experience, I’m saying the evidence presented in OP seems to suggest they could share color experience, and that evidence should not be simply dismissed. It’s not direct evidence for the belief imo, it’s more like evidence that suggests new lines of inquiry.